Practices of the church got ya down? How about a little change

1. Practices of the church got ya down?How about a little change

2. The Church Structure (Hierarchy): POPE Bishops BishopsBishops Priests PriestsPriestsPriestsPriests Lay People PeoplePeoplePeoplePeoplePeople Clergy – religious officials Lay – the common people in the Church Bishop’s Cathedrals in Major Cities Diocese Diocese The Village Parish Churches The Village Parish Churches

3. The Middle Ages are sometimes called The Age of Faith. -While Feudalism and the Manor system created divisions among Medieval people… -Shared beliefs and the teachings of the Church was a stable force, establishing unity among Europeans. -Everyone (regardless of station) could still follow the same path to Salvation (everlasting life in Heaven).- This path to Heaven – according to the Medieval Church – was paved by following the Church’s sacraments.

4. Problems Facing the Medieval Church • Lay Investiture • Kings choose clergy positions (bishops) • Simony • a position in the church being sold by a bishop to the highest contributor • Greedy clergy / obsession with wealth; corrupt & pampered bishops; even a few Popes with questionable morals • Illiterate, uneducated priests contributed to conflicting beliefs • Immoral (non-celibate) priests / illegitimate children

5. CHURCH MAKES EFFORTS TO REFORM • Pope Leo IX & Gregory VII lead the effort to reform • Reorganize the structure of the Church hierarchy • Created the Curia (council of Pope’s advisors) • Extends the power Popes have over clergy • Create theInquisition (Church court) • Curia clarifies Canon Law • Enforce laws • POPE • The Curia (Cardinals) • Bishops BishopsBishops • Priests PriestsPriestsPriests • T h e L A Y P e o p l e Acted as the Church’s Judicial Branch – served as a Court & to “police” the clergy: traveled through Europe dealing with “bad” bishops and priests.

6. Pope Leo IX & Gregory VII lead the effort to reform • Cathedral construction • Convents for women • Preaching Friars (monks) • The Dominicans founded by a Spaniard, Dominic • The Franciscans founded bySt. Francis of Assissi • The Cistercians practiced an ascetic life (life of hardship) • Benedictine Monastery at Cluny (reform movement began here) • Tithe (church tax)– used to provide social services to people

7. Nearly 500 Gothic cathedrals were built and decorated between 1170 and 1270. The Church was very wealthy; cathedrals were meant to represent the City of God on earth and so were richly decorated. Their construction was also a way to foster unity in the local communities, encourage pride among citizens, and focus people’s attention to “heavenly” matters.

8. GOTHIC Style • Pointed arches, steeples, spires, • Tall walls supported by “flying buttresses” • Vaulted ceilings • Many windows • creating • Interiors flooded with natural light • Late Medieval period ROMANESQUE Style • Rounded arches, dome • Short, thick walls • Few windows, • creating • Dark interiors • Typical style of • Roman / Byzantine period

9. Cathedral of Laon; France, about 1160-1235

10. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France (construction 1163 – 1250) Detail of the buttresses.

11. Fundraising, and hard work to build these cathredrals united people in a community into a single purpose. • The building of cathedrals was designed to pull focus away from the harshness of life, and towards God’s religion. • Physical construction of gothic cathedrals were designed to draw the eye upward to heaven

12. 4. The Church forbade Christians from lending money at interest. Jews, who were not allowed to make a living in many occupations, became moneylenders since their own religion did not forbid it and it was a way for them to make income. Usury – lending money and charging interest. Because the Jews became the wealthy financiers / bankers in Europe, they were often resented by the poorer Christian population. This matter contributed to rising Anti-Semitism (persecutions of Jews) in Europe. Anti-Semitism – prejudice and / or hatred toward people who are Jewish.

13. What led to the weakening of the Church’s power over people • in the Middle Ages? • The repeated failures of the Crusades [1092-1291] • its corrupt clergy and greed – insistent demands for tithes from the poor • while the church’s upper clergy appeared to be living pampered lives. • an embarrassing Scandal known as the Great Schism [1305-1378] • its refusal to condemn the barbarism on both sides in the Hundred Years’ War • its inability to address the needs of the people during the Bubonic plague • the first appearance of outspoken, critical priests within the Churchwho • began to question the Pope himself • Scholars / writers use common people’s vernacular language • brought criticisms of Church to the ear of the common man

14. The Black Death The Bubonic Plague - Pandemic of the 14th c. • Origin– Asia(region of Gobi desert north of China.) • Mongol unification of Asia created circumstances making it’s spread possible. • First reports of illness in China in 1333 A.D. • - First reports of illness in Middle East in 1346 A.D. • - Reports of in eastern Europe (Crimea region) 1346 A.D. - story of bodies being • catapulted over walls of Caffa during Muslim siege of city. • Spread: as a result ofTrade. • Carrier: the Black Rat. • Transmitter: the flea! 4. Where did the plague begin and how did it spread? Began in Asia – spread to Europe through trade. Arriving in port cities on rat-infested trade ships. Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Like other rats, it carries a number of diseases, including bubonic plague, which is transmitted by its fleas.

15. Effects of the Plague • On the Church • A. The Church couldn’t save victims. • People lose faith in the institution; not God. • B. Connection to upcoming Protestant Reformation: Who would help a plague victim? A good, self-less priest? So then, which priests all died? The good priests?! Leaving now the more self-centered priests? A church filled with such self-seeking priests would be in need of Reformation.